Battery device, electronic apparatus, and battery system

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a battery device including a battery enclosure incorporating a battery cell. The battery device further includes an output terminal that outputs power of the battery cell. The battery enclosure includes a first surface, a second surface, a first step surface, a second step surface, a first engaging portion, a second engaging portion, a first groove, and a second groove formed in the second step surface and the second engaging portion, and a recess is provided in at least one of the first step surface and the second step surface.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of and claims thebenefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 from U.S. application Ser. No.13/849,776, filed Mar. 25, 2013, which is a continuation application ofU.S. application Ser. No. 13/458,601, filed Apr. 27, 2012, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,470,465, which is a continuation application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 13/116,781, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,241,774, filed May 26, 2011,which is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No.11/836,310, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,989,101, filed Aug. 9, 2007, which isbased upon and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 fromprior Japanese Patent Application JP 2006 230797, filed in the JapanesePatent Office on Aug. 28, 2006. The entire contents of each of the aboveis incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a battery device used as a portablepower source, an electronic apparatus in which the battery device isdetachably mounted and used, and a battery system including acombination of the electronic apparatus with the battery device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000 243365discloses an example of a battery device of the related art as aportable power source. Japanese Unexamined Patent in which arechargeable battery cell used as a power source for an electronicapparatus is stored; a battery mounting device on which the battery packis mounted; and an electronic apparatus including a battery mountingmechanism on which the battery pack is mounted. The battery packdisclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000243365 includes “a battery cell; a case in which the battery cell isstored; an output terminal which is provided in the case and outputspower of the battery cell; and a second surface of the case which isprovided continuously with a first surface of the case having the outputterminal and provided approximately perpendicular to the first surface,where a recess is formed with a plurality of steps in an approximatecenter of the second surface”.

It may be expected that the battery pack having such a configuration maybe prevented from being inappropriately mounted on a battery mountingdevice which is supposed to be incompatible (paragraph [0161] of thespecification), for example.

Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. 2005190929 discloses another example of a battery device of the related art.Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. 2005190929 discloses a battery device and an electronic apparatus operatedusing the battery device. The battery device disclosed in JapaneseUnexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. 2005 190929includes “a case having a width, a thickness, and a length; arechargeable battery provided in the case; and a battery side terminalprovided on a surface of the case and connected to the rechargeablebattery, where the battery device is inserted in the length directioninto a battery housing chamber of an electronic apparatus and thebattery side terminal is connected to a housing chamber side terminal ofthe battery housing chamber. A guide groove is formed in each side ofthe case in the crosswise direction, where the guide groove extends inthe length direction and is engaged with a protrusion provided in thebattery housing chamber to position the case in the thickness directionin the battery housing chamber”.

According to the battery device having such a configuration, it may beexpected that “since a guide groove is formed in each side of the casein the crosswise direction of the battery device, where the guide grooveextends in the length direction and is engaged with a protrusionprovided in the battery housing chamber to position the case in thethickness direction in the battery housing chamber, it is possible tostore, in the battery housing chamber, multiple types of battery devicesdifferent in thickness of the case, that is, different in volume”(paragraph [0005] of the specification).

However, in the battery device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 2000 243365, a recess formed with aplurality of steps is provided in an approximate center of a rearsurface of the case in which the battery cell is stored, and aprotrusion corresponding to a shape of the recess is provided in amounting portion of the electronic apparatus in which the battery deviceis mounted, in order to discriminate a type of the battery device. As aresult, when a new battery device is developed, it may be necessary toincrease the number of the steps in the recess of the battery device andprovide a protrusion corresponding to the recess in the mounting portionof the electronic apparatus, and thus the recess of the battery deviceand the protrusion of the mounting portion have complicated shapes.

Further, each of the battery devices disclosed in Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application Publication No. 2000 243365 and Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application Publication No. 2005 190929 is formed as an exclusivecomponent that may be mounted only on a mounting portion having aspecific configuration of an electronic apparatus. Accordingly, onebattery device may be mounted on an electronic apparatus having amounting portion corresponding to the battery device, and a batterydevice corresponding to the electronic apparatus may separately beprepared for another type of an electronic apparatus including amounting portion having a different mounting structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The number of steps in a recess of the battery device may have to beincreased and provided a protrusion corresponding to the recess in amounting portion of an electronic apparatus when a new battery device ofthe related art is developed, and thus the recess of the battery deviceand the protrusion of the mounting portion have complicated shapes.

A battery device according to an embodiment of the present inventionincludes an approximately rectangular parallelepiped battery enclosureincorporating a battery cell; and an output terminal which is placed toexpose an output portion in an approximate center of at least a firstsurface of the battery enclosure in a crosswise direction and outputspower of the battery cell. The battery enclosure has a second surface, afirst step surface, a second step surface, a first engaging portion, asecond engaging portion, a first groove, and a second groove. The secondsurface is approximately perpendicular to the first surface. The firststep surface is provided continuously with and approximately parallel tothe second surface with a predetermined step on one side of the secondsurface in the crosswise direction. The second step surface is providedcontinuously with and approximately parallel to the second surface witha predetermined step on the other side of the second surface in thecrosswise direction. The first engaging portion protrudes withpredetermined width and thickness from the second surface to one side inthe crosswise direction. The second engaging portion protrudes withpredetermined width and thickness from the second surface in thecrosswise direction to the other side. The first groove is formed withthe first step surface and the first engaging portion. The second grooveis formed with the second step surface and the second engaging portion.The most important feature is that a recess is provided in at least oneof the first step surface and the second step surface.

An electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a mounting portion in which a battery device isdetachably mounted having an approximately rectangular parallelepipedbattery enclosure incorporating a battery cell; and a connectionterminal which is placed to expose a connection portion in anapproximate center of at least a first surface of the mounting portionin a crosswise direction and is detachably connected to an outputterminal that outputs power of the battery cell of the battery device.The mounting portion of the electronic apparatus has a second surfaceapproximately perpendicular to the first surface; a first hook providedat a predetermined interval from the second surface and detachablyengaged with a first engaging portion provided in the battery enclosure;and a second hook provided at a predetermined interval from the secondsurface and detachably engaged with a second engaging portion providedin the battery enclosure. A projection protruding away from the secondsurface is provided on at least one of the first hook and the secondhook.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided abattery system including a combination of a battery device having abattery cell with an electronic apparatus having a mounting portion inwhich the battery device is detachably mounted.

The battery device has an approximately rectangular parallelepipedbattery enclosure incorporating a battery cell; and an output terminalwhich is placed to expose an output portion in an approximate center ina crosswise direction of at least a battery side first surface of thebattery enclosure and outputs power of the battery cell. The batteryenclosure of the battery device has a battery side second surface, afirst step surface, a second step surface, a first engaging portion, asecond engaging portion, a first groove, and a second groove. Thebattery side second surface is approximately perpendicular to thebattery side first surface. The first step surface is providedcontinuously with and approximately parallel to the battery side secondsurface with a predetermined step on one side of the battery side secondsurface in the crosswise direction. The second step surface is providedcontinuously with and approximately parallel to the battery side secondsurface with a predetermined step on the other side of the battery sidesecond surface in the crosswise direction. The first engaging portionprotrudes with predetermined width and thickness to one side from thebattery side second surface in the crosswise direction. The secondengaging portion protrudes with predetermined width and thickness to theother side from the battery side second surface in the crosswisedirection. The first groove is formed with the first step surface andthe first engaging portion. The second groove is formed with the secondstep surface and the second engaging portion. A recess is provided in atleast one of the first step surface and the second step surface.

The electronic apparatus has a connection terminal which is placed toexpose a connection portion in an approximate center of at least anelectronic apparatus side first surface of the mounting portion in acrosswise direction and is detachably connected to the output terminalthat outputs power of the battery cell of the battery device. Themounting portion of the electronic apparatus has: an electronicapparatus side second surface approximately perpendicular to theelectronic apparatus side first surface; a first hook provided at apredetermined interval from the electronic apparatus side second surfaceand detachably engaged with a first engaging portion provided in thebattery enclosure; and a second hook provided at a predeterminedinterval from the electronic apparatus side second surface anddetachably engaged with a second engaging portion provided in thebattery enclosure. A projection detachably engaged with the recess isprovided in at least one of the first hook and the second hook.

A battery device according to an embodiment of the present inventionhaving such a configuration may provide a type discrimination portionfor a new battery device with a simple structure and may be commonlyused for multiple types of an electronic apparatus having differentmounting systems. An electronic apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention may provide a type discrimination portion for anew battery device with a simple structure, and a battery device mountedon a mounting portion of the electronic apparatus to supply power may becommonly used for multiple types of the electronic apparatus havingdifferent mounting systems. Further, a battery system according to anembodiment of the present invention including a combination of thebattery device and the electronic apparatus described above may providea battery system having advantages of the battery device and theelectronic apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bottom oblique view showing a first example of a batterydevice according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A 2B show a first example of a battery device according to anembodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 2A is a bottom view andFIG. 2B is a left side view.

FIGS. 3A 3C show a first example of a battery device according to anembodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 3A is a front view, FIG.3B is a rear view, and FIG. 3C is a D D line cross sectional view ofFIG. 2B.

FIG. 4 is a front oblique view of a digital video camera as a specificexample of an imaging device shown as an example of an electronicapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a rear oblique view of a digital video camera as a specificexample of an imaging device shown as an example of an electronicapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of a digital video camera as a specific example ofan imaging device shown as an example of an electronic apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an oblique view of a rear panel having a mounting portion ofthe digital video camera shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is an exploded oblique view of a rear panel having a mountingportion, a slide member, and a support plate member of the digital videocamera shown in FIG. 4.

FIGS. 9A 9C show the rear panel shown in FIG. 7 and others, where FIG.9A is a front view of the rear panel, FIG. 9B is a view describing aninitial state during mounting a battery device, and FIG. 9C is viewdescribing a state after mounting the battery device.

FIG. 10 is an oblique view showing a second example of a rear panelhaving a mounting portion of an imaging device shown as an example of anelectronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 11A 11C show the rear panel shown in FIG. 10 and others, whereFIG. 11A is a front view of the rear panel, FIG. 11B is a viewdescribing an initial state during mounting a battery device, and FIG.11C is view describing a state after mounting the battery device.

FIG. 12 is a bottom oblique view showing a second example of a batterydevice according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing a second example of a battery deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an oblique view showing a third example of a rear panelhaving a mounting portion of an imaging device shown as an example of anelectronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is an U U line cross sectional view showing the rear panel shownin FIG. 14 and others in a state where a battery device is mounted.

FIG. 16 is a front oblique view showing a fourth example of a mountingportion of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of a mounting portion of a fourthexample in which a battery device is mounted, the mounting portionhaving a dimension in a height direction Z2 sufficiently larger thanthat of the battery device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A battery device, suitable electronic apparatus using the batterydevice, and a battery system including a combination of the batterydevice with the electronic apparatus are realized based on a simplestructure, where a type of the battery device may be discriminated basedon the simple structure, and there is no need to prepare separatebattery devices for multiple types of an electronic apparatus havingmounting portions with different structures and thus one battery devicemay be commonly used for the multiple types.

FIGS. 1 to 17 show examples of embodiments of the present invention.Specifically, FIGS. 1 to 3 show a first example of a battery deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 1 is anoblique view, FIG. 2A is a bottom view, FIG. 2B is a left side view,FIG. 3A is a front view, FIG. 3B is a rear view, and FIG. 3C is a D Dline cross sectional view of FIG. 2B. FIGS. 4 to 7 show an imagingdevice as an example of an electronic apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 4 is a front obliqueview of the imaging device, FIG. 5 is a rear oblique view of the imagingdevice, FIG. 6 is a rear view of the imaging device, and FIG. 7 is anoblique view showing a first example of a rear panel of an exteriorcase. FIG. 8 is an exploded oblique view showing a mounting portion, aslide member, and a support plate member, and FIGS. 9A to 9C describe astate of mounting a battery device in a mounting portion of an imagingdevice, where FIG. 9A is a front view of a rear panel, FIG. 9B is a viewdescribing an initial state during mounting the battery device, and FIG.9C is a view describing a state after mounting the battery device. FIG.10 is an oblique view showing a second example of a rear panel, andFIGS. 11A to 11C describe a state of mounting a battery device in amounting portion of an imaging device, where FIG. 11A is a front view ofthe rear panel, FIG. 11B is a view describing an initial state duringmounting the battery device, and FIG. 11C is a view describing a stateafter mounting the battery device.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a second example of a battery device according toan embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 12 is an oblique viewand FIG. 13 is a front view. FIG. 14 is an oblique view showing a thirdexample of a rear panel, and FIG. 15 is an U U line cross sectional viewof FIG. 14 in a state where a battery device is mounted. FIG. 16 is afront oblique view of a fourth example of a mounting portion of anelectronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 17 is a view describing a mounting portion in whicha battery device is mounted, the mounting portion having a dimension ina height direction Z2 sufficiently larger than that of the batterydevice.

Example 1

First, a first example of a battery device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.The battery device 1 includes: a battery enclosure 2 formed with ahollow enclosure; a battery cell and a control circuit board (not shown)provided inside the battery enclosure 2; and a battery side outputterminal 3 provided in the battery enclosure 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the battery enclosure 2 shown in this example isformed as an approximately rectangular parallelepiped block shapedcontainer having a dimension L in a longitudinal direction Y, adimension W in a crosswise direction X at right angles to thelongitudinal direction Y, and a dimension H in a height direction Z atright angles to the longitudinal direction Y and the crosswise directionX. In this example, the dimensions of the battery enclosure 2 (length L,width W, and height H) are set to have a relation of: length L>widthW>height H. However, a shape of a battery device according to anembodiment of the present invention is not limited to a shape of thebattery device of this example, and the height H (for example, widthW<height H) is sufficiently be increased, to allow the width W longerthan the length L (length L<width W), and to use other variations in thedimensions, for example. The battery enclosure 2 is formed with acontainer shaped upper case 4 with one surface open and a cover shapedlower case 5 mounted to close the opening of the upper case 4.

The upper case 4 has a rectangular upper surface 4 a, a front surface 4b, a rear surface 4 c, a left side surface 4 d, and a right side surface4 e. The front surface 4 b is continuous with the upper surface 4 a tobe approximately perpendicular to one side Y of the upper surface 4 a inthe longitudinal direction. The rear surface 4 c is continuous with theupper surface 4 a to be approximately perpendicular to the other side Yof the upper surface 4 a in the longitudinal direction. The left sidesurface 4 d is continuous with the upper surface 4 a to be approximatelyperpendicular to one side of the upper surface 4 a in the crosswisedirection X. The right side surface 4 e is continuous with the uppersurface 4 a to be approximately perpendicular to the other side of theupper surface 4 a in the crosswise direction X. Circular chamfers 4 f, 4f each having a large radius of curvature are provided in a corner atwhich the upper surface 4 a intersects with the left side surface 4 dand a corner at which the upper surface 4 a intersects with the rightside surface 4 e, respectively.

The lower case 5 is formed with a lower surface 5 a, a front surface 5b, a rear surface 5 c, a left step portion 5 d, and a right step portion5 e. The lower surface 5 a is approximately rectangular and shows aspecific example of a second surface of the battery enclosure 2. Thefront surface 5 b forms part of a first surface continuous with thelower surface 5 a to be approximately perpendicular to one side of thelower surface 5 a in the longitudinal direction Y. The rear surface 5 chas a third step surface 6 c continuous with the lower surface 5 a witha predetermined step from the other side in the longitudinal direction Yof the lower surface 5 a. The left step portion 5 d has a first stepsurface 6 a continuous with the lower surface 5 a with a predeterminedstep from one side of the lower surface 5 a in the crosswise directionX. The right step portion 5 e has a second step surface 6 b continuouswith the lower surface 5 a with a predetermined step from the other sideof the lower surface 5 a in the crosswise direction X. The front surface5 b of the lower case 5 and the front surface 4 b of the upper case 4form a front surface that is the first surface of the battery enclosure2.

An application portion 5 f for application of a label is formed to havean appropriate depth on the lower surface 5 a of the lower case 5. Asshown in FIG. 3A, the first step surface 6 a and the second step surface6 b are set to have an approximately equal height S (length in theheight direction Z) from the lower surface 5 a. Further, the first stepsurface 6 a and the second step surface 6 b are also set to have anapproximately equal width M (length in the crosswise direction X). Thefirst step surface 6 a and the second step surface 6 b are formed to beapproximately parallel to the lower surface 5 a, respectively.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, a first engaging portion 7 and a secondengaging portion 8 are provided in the lower case 5, where the firstengaging portion 7 is formed protruding from one side of the lowersurface 5 a with predetermined width N and thickness T in the crosswisedirection X that is the second surface, and the second engaging portion8 is formed protruding with predetermined width N and thickness T fromthe other side of the lower surface 5 a in the crosswise direction X.The first engaging portion 7 and the second engaging portion 8 aresymmetrical with each other, and the width (protrusion length) N of eachof the first engaging portion 7 and the second engaging portion 8 is setto be about ½ the width M of each of the first step surface 6 a and thesecond step surface 6 b. The thickness T of each of the first engagingportion 7 and the second engaging portion 8 is set to be ½ or less theheight S of each of the first step surface 6 a and the second stepsurface 6 b.

The first engaging portion 7 has a first engaging piece 7 a, a secondengaging piece 7 b, and a third engaging piece 7 c provided atappropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction Y. The firstengaging portion 7 a is placed on a front surface 5 b side, the thirdengaging portion 7 c is placed on a rear surface 5 c side, and thesecond engaging portion 7 b is placed in a middle between the firstengaging portion 7 a and the third engaging portion 7 c. A first opening10 a is provided between the first engaging piece 7 a and the secondengaging piece 7 b, and a second opening 10 b is provided between thesecond engaging piece 7 b and the third engaging piece 7 c. Similarly,the second engaging portion 8 has a first engaging piece 8 a, a secondengaging piece 8 b, and a third engaging piece 8 c provided atappropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction Y. The firstengaging portion 8 a is placed on a front surface 5 b side, the thirdengaging portion 8 c is placed on a rear surface 5 c side, and thesecond engaging portion 8 b is placed in a middle between the firstengaging portion 8 a and the third engaging portion 8 c. A third opening10 c is provided between the first engaging piece 8 a and the secondengaging piece 8 b, and a fourth opening 10 d is provided between thesecond engaging piece 8 b and the third engaging piece 8 c.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A, a first rib 11 a is provided on arear surface 5 c side of the first engaging piece 7 a of the firstengaging portion 7; a second rib 11 b is provided on a rear surface 5 cside of the second engaging piece 7 b; and a third rib 11 c is providedon a rear surface 5 c side of the third engaging piece 7 c. Similarly, afirst rib 12 a is provided on a rear surface 5 c side of the firstengaging piece 8 a of the second engaging portion 8; a second rib 12 bis provided on a rear surface 5 c side of the second engaging piece 8 b;and a third rib 12 c is provided on a rear surface 5 c side of the thirdengaging piece 8 c. A protrusion length (width) P of each of the firstribs 11 a, 12 a and the second ribs 11 b, 12 b is set to be about ½ aprotrusion length (width) N of each of the first engaging pieces 7 a, 8a and the second engaging pieces 7 b, 8 b. On the other hand, aprotrusion length (width) of each of the third ribs 11 c, 12 c is set tobe approximately equal to a protrusion length (width) N of each of thethird engaging pieces 7 c, 8 c.

An opening 14 for the output terminal 3 to expose part of the outputterminal 3 is provided on a front surface 5 b side of the lower case 5.The opening 14 is formed as a continuous notch from the front surface 5b to the lower surface 5 a and is provided to notch a whole approximatecenter of the front surface 5 b in the crosswise direction X. Further,two first discrimination recesses 15 a, 15 b to discriminate a type ofthe battery device 1 are provided on both sides of the opening 14 of thelower case 5 in the crosswise direction X. The two first discriminationrecesses 15 a, 15 b are each formed to have a specific shape accordingto a shape, a power capacity, or the like of the battery device 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2B, two second discrimination recesses 9 a, 9 bto discriminate a type of the battery device 1 are provided on the firststep surface 6 a at a predetermined interval in the longitudinaldirection Y. Similarly, two third discrimination recesses 13 a, 13 b todiscriminate a type of the battery device 1 are provided on the secondstep surface 6 b at a predetermined interval in the longitudinaldirection Y. The second discrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b are each formedto have a specific depth (height) K from the first step surface 6 a andthe third discrimination recesses 13 a, 13 b are each formed to have aspecific depth (height) J from the second step surface 6 b according toa shape, a power capacity, and others of the battery device 1. In thisexample, the second discrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b and the thirddiscrimination recesses 13 a, 13 b are approximately symmetricallyformed so that the depth K is approximately equal to the depth J.However, the depth K of the second discrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b andthe depth J of the third discrimination recesses 13 a, 13 b in anembodiment of the present invention are not limited to those in thisexample, and the second discrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b and the thirddiscrimination recesses 13 a, 13 b may be asymmetrically formed to makethe depth K differ from the depth J.

In this example, the number of the second discrimination recesses 9 orthe third discrimination recesses 13 is set to be two. However, thenumber of the second discrimination recesses 9 or the thirddiscrimination recesses 13 is not limited to the number in this example,and the number of the second discrimination recesses 9 may be one andthe number of the third discrimination recesses 13 may be three, forexample. Further, in this example, the second discrimination recesses 9and the third discrimination recesses 13 are formed in each of the firststep surface 6 a and the second step surface 6 b; however, it is alsopossible to form the second discrimination recesses 9 or the thirddiscrimination recesses 13 on either one of the first step surface 6 aand the second step surface 6 b. The second discrimination recesses 9 a,9 b and the third discrimination recesses 13 a, 13 b show a specificexample of a recess in an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3A, the output terminal 3 mounted on the opening14 of the lower case 5 has a block shaped terminal holder 16 having atleast: a front surface 16 coplanar with the front surface 5 b of thelower case 5; and a lower surface 16 b approximately perpendicular tothe front surface 16 a and coplanar with the lower surface 5 a of thelower case 5. The terminal holder 16 has: multiple (four in thisexample) electrode slits 17 a, 17 a in which electrodes are placed; andtwo positioning slits 17 b, 17 b placed on both sides of the multipleelectrode slits 17 a. The electrode slits 17 a and the positioning slits17 b are formed in a corner of the terminal holder 16 as groove shapednotches continuous from the front surface to the bottom surface.

Positioning protrusions of a connection terminal 56 provided in amounting portion of an electronic apparatus described later are eachengaged with the two positioning slits 17 b of the terminal holder 16.Similarly, electrodes of the connection terminal 56 are each engagedwith the four electrode slits 17 a. Battery side electrodes of theoutput terminal 3 (not shown) are each placed in the four electrodeslits 17 a. The battery cell incorporated in the battery enclosure 2 iselectrically connected to each of the battery side electrodes of theoutput terminal 3.

The lower case 5 having such a configuration is overlapped with theupper case 4 to close an opening of the upper case 5 and portionsoverlapped in this manner are joined together. Obviously, the portionsmay be joined together by use of an adhesive, by thermally welding, orby another joining method, for example. Accordingly, the batteryenclosure 2 is formed having the upper case 4 and the lower case 5integrated. A battery cell having one or more battery cells and acontrol circuit board having a microcomputer including a CPU, a RAM andROM, and an interface are stored in the battery enclosure 2. The batterycell and the control circuit board are electrically connected to eachother and also connected to the output terminal 3. The output terminal 3is formed so that power of the battery cell may be output and data ofinformation on a battery capacity, a property, and others may becommunicated between the output terminal 3 and external electronicapparatus. The battery device 1 is formed in this manner.

Next, a first example of an imaging device included in suitableelectronic apparatus using the battery device 1 as a portable powersource will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. The deviceshown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is a digital video camera 20 used as a firstexample of an imaging device. The digital video camera 20 includes atape cassette having a magnetic tape as an information storage mediumand converts an optical image into electric signals using an imagingelement (such as a CCD (charge coupled device) or a CMOS image sensor)showing a specific example of an imaging mechanism, so that the imageinformation may be recorded in the magnetic tape and displayed in adisplay device 23 formed with a flat panel such as a liquid crystaldisplay.

However, an information storage medium used in an imaging device showinga specific example of an electronic apparatus according to an embodimentof the present invention is not limited to the magnetic tape shown inthis example. It is possible to use disc shaped recording media such asrecordable optical discs, magneto optical discs, and magnetic discsincluding DVD Rs, DVD RWs, DVD RAMs, MOs, and FDs as information storagemedia. An electronic apparatus using such a disc shaped recording mediummay be realized as an optical disc video camera when using an opticaldisc; or a magneto optical disc still camera when using a magnetooptical disc, for example. Further, such an electronic apparatus may berealized as a magnetic disc electronic organizer when using a magneticdisc.

The digital video camera 20 has: an exterior case 21 showing a specificexample of a case main body formed with an enclosure forming anappearance; a tape drive device that is stored in the exterior case 21and drives a magnetic tape of a tape cassette detachably mounted on thetape drive device to record (write) and reproduce (read) informationsignals; a control circuit to control driving of the tape drive device;a lens device 22 to incorporate a subject image as light to guide theimage to the imaging device; and a display device rotatably attached tothe exterior case 21.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the exterior case 21 is formed with a hollowenclosure and formed in an approximately rectangular parallelepipedshape by a driving device side panel 21A and a display device side panel21B placed opposite to each other in a transverse direction; a frontpanel 21C to close a front opening of an enclosure formed with combiningboth panels; and a rear panel 21D to close a rear opening of theenclosure. The exterior case 21 has a longitudinal direction Y set to bea back and forth direction and is used as raised in a crosswisedirection X. A lens device 22 is provided in an upper portion of theexterior case 21 in a state where a subjective lens 24 as an imaginglens of a lens system is exposed on a front surface.

The lens device 22 is attached to the exterior case 21 in a state wherean optical axis of the lens system is in a horizontal direction. Animaging element (not shown) is attached to a rear portion of the lensdevice 22 in the exterior case 21. A view finder device 25 is placedbehind the lens device 22 to reflect a subject image input from the lensdevice 22. An opening is provided in the upper portion of the externalcase 21 to expose an accessory shoe in which accessories such as a videolight and an external microphone are detachably mounted. The accessoryshoe is placed immediately in front of the view finder device 25 andusually detachably covered with a shoe cap 27 to open and close theopening. Further, a light emitting portion 28 of a flash device and anincorporated stereo type microphone 29 are placed on the front panel21C.

As shown in FIG. 4, the display device 23 is attached to a displaydevice side panel 21B so that an attitude of the display device 23 maybe modified. The display device 23 is formed with: a flat panel (notshown) formed with a flat liquid crystal display or the like; a panelcase 31 in which the flat panel is stored; and a panel support 32 tosupport the panel case 31 so that an attitude of the panel case may bemodified with respect to the display device side panel 21B. The panelsupport 32 has: a horizontal rotation portion to make the panel case 31rotatable at about 90° in a horizontal direction with a vertical axis asa rotation center; and a back and forth rotation portion to make thepanel case 31 rotatable at about 180° in aback and forth direction witha horizontal axis as a rotation center.

Accordingly, the display device 23 may be freely in a state where theflat panel is stored in a side surface of the display device side panel21B; in a state where the flat panel faces backward by rotating thepanel case 31 at 90° from that state; in a state where the flat panelfaces forward by rotating the panel case 31 at 180° from that state; orin a state where the flat panel is in an intermediate position amongthese positions. A main body operation portion 33 formed with aplurality of operation buttons is provided on a side surface of thedisplay device side panel 21B above the display device 23.

As shown in FIG. 5, a deck cover 34 to closably cover a tape deck inwhich the tape cassette is detachably mounted is closably provided onthe driving device side panel 21A. The tape deck is a device totransport the mounted tape cassette to a predetermined position and todraw the magnetic tape from the cassette and load the tape on a rotationdrum or the like of the tape drive device, and then allow the magnetictape to run at a predetermined speed to record (write) and/or reproduce(read) information signals. The deck cover 34 to cover the tape deckhas: a power source switch 35 also used as a mode selector switch; ashutter button 36 to photograph a static image; a zoom button 37 tocontinuously enlarge (tele) or reduce (wide) an image within apredetermined range; an opening/closing switch 38 to lock and unlock thedeck cover 34; and a video recording button 39 to photograph a movingimage.

The power source switch 35 has functions to switch the power source onand off by a rotation operation and to switch a plurality of functionmodes to each other to repeat them by performing a rotation operationwith the power source switched on. Further, a hand belt 51 is attachedto the deck cover 34 and a hand pad 42 is mounted on the hand belt 51.The hand belt 51 and the hand pad 42 support a hand of a user holdingthe exterior case 21 to prevent dropping of the digital video camera 20,for example.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a mounting portion 44 is provided on a rearsurface of the exterior case 21 as a battery housing in which thebattery device 1 as a portable power source is detachably mounted. Themounting portion 44 is placed lower than an approximate center of therear surface of the exterior case 21, and is provided to open backwardin the rear panel 21D forming the rear surface of the exterior case 21.The driving device side panel 21A is provided to the right of the rearpanel 21D. The video recording button 39 is placed in the driving deviceside panel 21A. The display device side panel 21B is provided to theleft of the rear panel 21D. A light emitting button 46 of the flashdevice and a night shot selector switch 47 are placed in the displaydevice side panel 21B.

As shown in FIG. 7, the rear panel 21D is formed with a panel memberformed longer in a vertical direction, and the mounting portion 44formed with a recess is formed in one surface of the rear panel D. Themounting portion 44 has a rectangular opening 45 approximately as largeas the battery device 1 (precisely, the mounting portion 44 has a lengthin a crosswise direction X1 approximately equal to that of the opening45, but has a length in a longitudinal direction Y1 which is a length ofthe battery device 1 plus a length of a clearance to allow the batterydevice 1 to be stored in the opening 45 by rotating the battery device 1with one edge in the longitudinal direction of the battery device as arotation center).

The opening 45 has a bottom surface 45 a, a lower surface 45 b, an uppersurface 45 c, a left side surface 45 d, and a right side surface 45 e.The bottom surface 45 a is rectangular and shows a specific example of asecond surface of the mounting portion 44. The lower surface 45 b iscontinuous with one side of the bottom surface 45 a in the longitudinaldirection Y1 and approximately perpendicular to the bottom surface 45 aand shows a specific example of an electronic apparatus side firstsurface. The upper surface 45 c is continuous with the other side in thelongitudinal direction Y1 of the bottom surface 45 a and approximatelyperpendicular to the bottom surface 45 a. The left side surface 45 d iscontinuous with one side in the crosswise direction X1 at right angleswith the longitudinal direction Y1 of the bottom surface 45 a andapproximately perpendicular to the bottom surface 45 a. The right sidesurface 45 d is continuous with the other side in the crosswisedirection X1 of the bottom surface 45 a and approximately perpendicularto the bottom surface 45 a. The opening 45 is provided with thelongitudinal direction Y1 set to be a vertical direction.

Further, an upper facing 48 protruding upward is provided on the uppersurface 45 c, and an insertion hole 48 a into which an operationprojection 66 is inserted is provided on the upper facing 48. A lowerfacing 49 is provided to be continuously projected laterally anddownward in a portion ranging from a lower portion of the right sidesurface 45 e to the lower surface 45 b. A fitting hole 50 to which aconnection terminal 56 described later is fitted is provided in anapproximate center of the lower surface 45 b. The fitting hole 50 isformed as a notch continuously extending from the lower surface 45 b toa middle of the bottom surface 45 a.

There are provided, on the bottom surface 45 a of the opening 45, twofirst penetration holes 51 a, 51 b into which a first hook 61 describedlater may penetrate and two second penetration holes 52 a, 52 b intowhich a second hook 62 may penetrate. The two first penetration holes 51a, 51 b are provided along the left side surface 45 d of the opening 45,where the first lower penetration hole 51 a is placed at a predeterminedinterval from the lower surface 45 b and the first upper penetrationhole 51 b is placed at a predetermined interval from the first lowerpenetration hole 51 a. The two second penetration holes 52 a, 52 b areprovided along the left side surface 45 d of the opening 45, where thesecond lower penetration hole 52 a is placed at a predetermined intervalfrom the lower surface 45 b and the second upper penetration hole 52 bis placed at a predetermined interval from the second lower penetrationhole 52 a. The first penetration holes 51 a, 51 b and the secondpenetration holes 52 a, 52 b are provided symmetrically with each other.The first penetration holes 51 a, 51 b and the second penetration holes52 a, 52 b are formed as rectangular holes extending in the longitudinaldirection Y1 of the opening 45 so that a first hook 61 and a second hook62 may be moved in a vertical direction at a predetermined distance,respectively.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, the first lower penetration hole 51a is provided opposite to the first opening 10 a placed between thefirst engaging piece 7 a and the second engaging piece 7 b of the firstengaging portion 7 of the battery device 1 mounted on the mountingportion 44. Similarly, the second lower penetration hole 52 a isprovided opposite to the third opening 10 c placed between the firstengaging piece 8 a and the second engaging piece 8 b of the secondengaging portion 8 of the battery device 1. The first upper penetrationhole 51 b is provided opposite to the second opening 10 b placed betweenthe second engaging piece 7 b and the third engaging piece 7 c of thefirst engaging portion 7 of the battery device 1. Similarly, the secondupper penetration hole 52 b is provided opposite to the fourth opening10 d placed between the second engaging piece 8 b and the third engagingpiece 8 c of the second engaging portion 8 of the battery device 1.

Two protrusion pieces 55 a, 55 b to position and support engagement ofthe battery device 1 are provided on both corners on a lower edge of theopening 45. The two protrusion pieces 55 a, 55 b are formed with apredetermined clearance from the lower surface 45 a to protrude upwardfrom the lower surface 45 b. When the battery device 1 is mounted, thefirst protrusion piece 55 a is engaged with the first engaging piece 7 aof the first engaging portion 7 of the battery device 1, and the secondprotrusion piece 55 b is engaged with the first engaging piece 8 a ofthe second engaging portion 8 of the battery device 1. A connectionterminal 56 is provided in an approximate center between the firstprotrusion piece 55 a and the second protrusion piece 55 b, where theconnection terminal is detachably connected to the output terminal 3 ofthe battery device 1 when the battery device 1 is mounted.

The connection terminal 56 has a shape and a structure corresponding tothose of an output portion of the output terminal 3 of the batterydevice 1. Specifically, the connection terminal 56 has: four main bodyside electrodes 57 that are provided corresponding to the number ofelectrodes of the output terminal 3 and may be inserted into the fourelectrode slits 17 a, respectively; and two guide pieces 58 that may beinserted into the two positioning slits 17 b, 17 b, respectively. Thefour main body side electrodes 57 are placed on the mounting portion 44at equal predetermined intervals in the crosswise direction X1, and thetwo guide pieces 58 are provided outside the electrodes 57 at apredetermined interval.

As shown in FIG. 8, a slide member 60 is placed on a rear surface of therear panel 21D having the mounting portion 44, and a support platemember 64 is placed on a rear surface of the slide member 60. The slidemember 60 is supported with respect to the rear panel 21D slidably in avertical direction that is the longitudinal direction Y1 in the mountingportion 44. The support plate member 64 is fixed to the rear panel 21Dto prevent dropping of the slide member 60. A coil spring 65 showing aspecific example of an energizing member to energize the slide member 60away from the connection terminal 56 is present between the slide member60 and the rear panel 21D.

The slide member 60 has: a base 60 a formed with an approximatelyrectangular plate smaller than the bottom surface 45 a of the opening45; and an operation portion 60 b provided protruding upward andcontinuously with an upper edge of the base 60 a. The first hook 61 andthe second hook 62 are provided at a predetermined interval between themon one surface of the base 60 a. The first hook 61 is placed on one sideof the base 60 a in a crosswise direction X1, and the second hook 62 isplaced on the other side of the base 60 a in the crosswise direction X1.The first hook 61 is formed with a first hook piece 61 a on a sideremote from the operation portion 60 b and a second hook piece 61 b on aside close to the operation portion 60 b. Similarly, the second hook 62is formed with a first hook piece 62 a on a side remote from theoperation portion 60 b and a second hook piece 62 b on a side close tothe operation portion 60 b.

The two hook pieces 61 a, 61 b of the first hook 61 are placed in serieson the base 60 a in a longitudinal direction Y1; similarly, the two hookpieces 62 a, 62 b of the second hook 62 are placed in series on the base60 a in the longitudinal direction Y1. The four hook pieces 61 a, 61 b,62 a, 62 b are symmetrically placed on the base 60 a with respect to thelongitudinal direction Y1. Further, nails protruding toward theoperation portion 60 b are provided on tops of the four hook pieces 61 ato 62 b, respectively. Each nail having an appropriate length extendsapproximately parallel to the base 60 a. The four hook pieces 61 a to 62b are slidably inserted from a rear surface side into the fourpenetration holes 51 a, 51 b, 52 a, 52 a of the rear panel 21D,respectively. Internal and external surfaces of a top of each nail ofthe four hook pieces 61 a to 62 b each preferably have an inclined planehaving an appropriate size in order to facilitate engagement with anddetachment from the first engaging portion 7 and the second engagingportion 8 of the battery device 1.

Further, first discrimination projections 53 a, 53 b and seconddiscrimination projections 54 a, 54 b inserted into the seconddiscrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b and the third discrimination recesses13 a, 13 b of the battery device 1, respectively, are provided in thenails of the four hook pieces 61 a to 62 b, respectively. The fourdiscrimination projections 53 a to 54 b are formed on one ends of thenails located away from the base 60 a, respectively. The fourdiscrimination projections 53 a to 54 b have a function to discriminatethe first battery device 1 mountable in the mounting portion 44 and asecond battery device not mountable in the mounting portion 44, thesecond battery device having an external shape approximately identicalto that of the first battery device 1 but not having the seconddiscrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b and the third discrimination recesses13 a, 13 b.

In order to obtain such a function, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, thefirst hook piece 61 a having the first discrimination projection 53 a ofthe first hook 61 is provided in a position where the first hook piece61 a may be engaged with the second engaging piece 7 b of the firstengaging portion 7 of the battery device 1 mounted on the mountingportion 44 and may be inserted into the second discrimination recess 9a. Similarly, the second hook piece 61 b having the first discriminationprojection 53 b of the first hook 61 is provided in a position where thesecond hook piece 61 b may be engaged with the third engaging piece 7 cof the first engaging portion 7 of the battery device 1 and may beinserted into the second discrimination recess 9 b. The first hook piece62 a having the second discrimination projection 54 a of the second hook62 is provided in a position where the first hook piece 62 a may beengaged with the second engaging piece 8 b of the second engagingportion 8 of the battery device 1 and may be inserted into the thirddiscrimination recess 13 a. Similarly, the second hook piece 62 b havingthe second discrimination projection 54 b of the second hook 62 isprovided in a position where the second hook piece 62 b may be engagedwith the third engaging piece 8 c of the second engaging portion 8 ofthe battery device 1 and may be inserted into the third discriminationrecess 13 b. The first discrimination projections 53 a to 54 b show aspecific example of a projection in an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 shows a state where the four hook pieces 61 a to 62 b areinserted into the four penetration holes 51 a, 51 b, 52 a, 52 b. In thisinsertion state, an operation projection 66 provided in the operationportion 60 b of the slide member 60 is slidably inserted into theinsertion hole 48 a provided on the upper facing 48 of the rear panel21D, and accordingly a top of the operation projection 66 protrudestoward a rear surface side. The operation projection 66 protrudes in adirection identical to those of the four hook pieces 61 a to 62 b with aheight approximately equal to those of the four hook pieces 61 a to 62b. A long hole 67 to store the coil spring 65 and an opening window 68to avoid interference with other components are also provided in thebase 60 a of the slide member 60.

A slide side spring bearing piece 69 in which one edge of the coilstring 65 sits is provided on one side of the long hole 67 in the base60 a in a longitudinal direction Y1. A rear panel 21D side springbearing portion 71 provided opposite to the spring bearing piece 69 isinserted into the other side of the long hole 67 in the longitudinaldirection Y1. The spring bearing portion 71 is provided on a rearsurface of the rear panel 21D, and the coil string 65 in a compressedstate is present between the spring bearing portion 71 and the springbearing piece 69. The slide member 60 is always energized away from theconnection terminal 56 by an elastic force of the coil spring 65.

The support plate member 64 slidably supports the slide member 60between the support plate member 64 and the rear panel 21D and functionsto prevent dropping of the coil spring 65. The support plate member 64is formed smaller than the rear panel 21D but larger than the slidemember 60 and is clamped and fixed to the rear panel 21D by a fixingscrew. Multiple attachment brackets 64 a and fixing portions 64 b areprovided in the support plate member 64.

The mounting portion 44 having such a configuration may be assembled asfollows, for example. First, as shown in FIG. 8, the slide member 60 isallowed to face a rear surface of the rear panel 21D, and the supportplate member 64 is placed on the rear surface of the slide member 60 tohold the slide member 60 between the rear panel 21D and the supportplate member 64. Then, the four hook pieces 61 a, 61 b, 62 a, 62 bprotruding on one surface of the base 60 a of the slide member 60 areinserted and allowed to penetrate into the four penetration holes 51 a,51 b, 52 a, 52 b provided in the opening 45 of the rear panel 21D,respectively, from the rear surface of the rear panel 21D. Accordingly,tops of the four hook pieces 61 a to 62 b are each allowed to protrudeinto the opening 45, and a predetermined clearance is formed between aninternal surface of each nail and the bottom surface 45 a of the opening45.

At the same time, the operation projection 66 provided on a top of theoperation portion 60 b of the slide member 60 is inserted and allowed topenetrate into the insertion hole 48 a provided in the upper facing 48protruding from an upper side of the opening 45 of the rear panel 21D.Next, the coil spring 65 is allowed to be present between the springbearing portion 71 of the rear panel 21D and the spring bearing piece 69of the slide member 60. Thereafter, the support plate member 64 isoverlapped with the slide member 60, and the support plate member 64 isclamped and fixed to the rear panel 21D by a fixing screw. Accordingly,the slide member 60 is slidably supported between the support platemember 64 and the rear panel 21D. The slide member 60 is alwaysenergized away from the connection terminal 56 by an elastic force ofthe coil spring 65. Assembly of the mounting portion 44 is completed inthis manner, and the rear panel 21D may be assembled.

The battery device 1 may be mounted on and detached from the mountingportion 44 formed as described above in the following manner, forexample. FIG. 9A is a view describing the rear panel 21D with a frontview of the mounting portion 44, FIG. 9B is a view describing a statewhen insertion of the battery device 1 starts, and FIG. 9C is a viewdescribing a locked state when insertion of the battery device 1 iscompleted. In FIGS. 9B and 9C, the three engaging pieces 8 a, 8 b, 8 cof the second engaging portion 8 are engaged with the two hook pieces 62a, 62 b of the second hook 62 and the second protrusion piece 55 b inthe same manner in which the three engaging pieces 7 a, 7 b, 7 c of thefirst engaging portion 7 formed symmetrically with the engaging pieces 8a, 8 b, 8 c are engaged with the two hook pieces 61 a, 61 b of the firsthook 61 and the first protrusion piece 55 a. Therefore, an operation ofone set formed with the first engaging portion 7 and others is describedhere, and description of an operation of the other set formed with thesecond engaging portion 8 and others is omitted.

First, a case of mounting the battery device 1 in the mounting portion44 will be described. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9B, a front surfaceon a output terminal 3 side of the battery device 1 is allowed to face alower edge of the opening 45 of the mounting portion 44. The firstengaging piece 7 a of the first engaging portion 7 and the firstengaging piece 8 a of the second engaging portion 8 provided on bothsides of a first surface of the battery device 1 in the crosswisedirection X are each and engaged by hooking with the first protrusionpiece 55 a and the second protrusion piece 55 b provided on both cornersof the lower edge of the opening 45. In such an engaging state, thebattery device 1 is rotated closer to the mounting portion 44 withcontact areas with the two protrusion pieces 55 a, 55 b as rotationcenters.

Accordingly, the second engaging piece 7 b of the battery device 1approaches the first hook piece 61 a, the third engaging piece 7 capproaches the second hook piece 61 b, and the second engaging piece 7 bis brought into contact with the first hook piece 61 a. The batterydevice 1 in this state is rotated and pushed into the opening 45, sothat the second engaging piece 7 b presses and moves the first hookpiece 61 a toward the connection terminal 56 against an elastic force ofthe coil spring 65. When the second engaging piece 7 b hurdles the firsthook piece 61 a, the third engaging piece 7 c is then brought intocontact with the second hook piece 61 b. When the third engaging piece 7c hurdles the second hook piece 61 b, the battery device 1 is completelyinserted into the opening 45, and the lower surface 5 a as a secondsurface of the battery device 1 is brought into contact with the bottomsurface 45 a as a second surface of the mounting portion 44.

As a result, the output terminal 3 of the battery device 1 is connectedto the connection terminal 56 of the mounting portion 44. Accordingly,the battery device 1 is electrically connected to the digital videocamera 20, and power of the battery device 1 is supplied to the digitalvideo camera 20 from the output terminal 3 through the connectionterminal 56. Record the subject to operate the digital video camera 20to photograph a subject and record the subject in a recording medium andto watch photographic information recorded in the recording medium inthe display device 23, for example.

In this case, the first discrimination projection 53 a provided in thefirst hook piece 61 a of the first hook 61 is inserted into the seconddiscrimination recess 9 a provided on the first step surface 6 a of thebattery device 1. Similarly, the second discrimination projection 54 aprovided in the first hook piece 62 a of the second hook 62 is insertedinto the third discrimination recess 13 a provided on the second stepsurface 6 b of the battery device 1. The first discrimination projection53 b provided in the second hook piece 61 b of the first hook 61 isinserted into the second discrimination recess 9 b provided on the firststep surface 6 a of the battery device 1. Similarly, the seconddiscrimination projection 54 b provided in the second hook piece 62 b ofthe second hook 62 is inserted into the third discrimination recess 13 bprovided on the second step surface 6 b of the battery device 1.

Since the first hook piece 61 a and the second hook piece 61 b are freein this manner, the slide member 60 slides away from the connectionterminal 56 by an elastic force of the coil spring 65. As a result, asshown in FIG. 9C, the first hook piece 61 a is engaged with the secondengaging piece 7 b and the second hook piece 61 b is engaged with thethird engaging piece 7 c. Similarly, in the second hook 62, the firsthook piece 62 a is engaged with the second engaging piece 8 b and thesecond hook piece 62 b is engaged with the third engaging piece 8 c.Accordingly, the battery device 1 is locked by the four hook pieces 61a, 61 b, 62 a, 62 b engaged with the four engaging pieces 7 b, 7 c, 8 b,8 c and fixed to the mounting portion 44.

On the other hand, it may be impossible to mount a battery device in themounting portion 44 when the battery device does not have the seconddiscrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b and the third discrimination recesses13 a, 13 b corresponding to the first discrimination projections 53 a,53 b and the second discrimination projections 54 a, 54 b on the firststep surface 6 a and the second step surface 6 b, respectively.

Accordingly, the second discrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b and the thirddiscrimination recesses 13 a, 13 b are provided in the battery device 1,and the first discrimination projections 53 a, 53 b and the seconddiscrimination projections 54 a, 54 b corresponding to thediscrimination recesses are provided in the mounting portion 44. In thismanner a type of the battery device may be discriminated based on asimple structure without further complicating a shape of the firstdiscrimination recesses 15 a, 15 b of the battery device 1, even if thenumber of types of the battery device is further increased.

When the battery device 1 mounted on the mounting portion 44 is removed,a user manually operates the operation projection 66 toward adisengaging side as shown in FIG. 9C. Specifically, in this example, theuser presses the operation projection 66 to allow the slide member 60 toslide toward the connection terminal 56 against an elastic force of thecoil spring 65. The slide member 60 is moved to a place where the fourhook pieces 61 a, 61 b, 62 a, 62 b are detached from the four engagingpieces 7 b, 7 c, 8 b, 8 c, so that the battery device 1 may be removed.Consequently, the battery device 1 may be removed from the mountingportion 44 by raising an edge opposite to the output terminal 3 of thebattery device 1 and rotating the battery device 1 with the two firstengaging pieces 7 a, 8 a engaged with the two protrusion pieces 55 a, 55b as centers.

FIGS. 10 and 11A show a second example of a mounting portion of anelectronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. This mounting portion 74 differs from the mounting portion 44of the first example in that a first hook 81 and a second hook 82 aresecurely fixed in an opening 75 of a rear panel 73 and a stopper member77 is provided to limit movement of the battery device 1 mounted on apredetermined position of the mounting portion 74. Since the mountingportion is formed in the same manner as in the first example except forthat point, the same components as in the first example are indicated bythe same symbols and their repeated description is omitted, anddifferent components are selectively described.

The opening 75 of the rear panel 73 has: a bottom surface 75 a as anapproximately rectangular second surface of the mounting portion 74; alower surface 75 b as a first surface continuous with one side of thebottom surface 75 a in a longitudinal direction Y1 and approximatelyperpendicular to the bottom surface 75 a; a left side surface 75 dcontinuous with one side of the bottom surface 75 a in a crosswisedirection X1 at right angles to the longitudinal direction Y1 andapproximately perpendicular to the bottom surface 75 a; and a right sidesurface 75 e continuous with the other side of the bottom surface 75 ain the crosswise direction X1 and approximately perpendicular to thebottom surface 75 a. The opening 75 for the mounting portion 74 isformed with the bottom surface 75 a, the lower surface 75 b, the leftside surface 75 d, and the right side surface 75 e. The opening 75 isprovided in the rear panel 73 with the longitudinal direction Y1 set tobe a vertical direction.

The first hook 81 has: a first hook piece 81 a placed on a connectionterminal 56 side; and a second hook piece 81 b placed at a predeterminedinterval in the longitudinal direction Y1 from the first hook piece 81a. The first hook piece 81 a is formed protruding inward from andintegrally with the left side surface 75 d of the rear panel 73. A firstprotrusion piece 55 a is provided on a connection terminal 56 side ofthe first hook piece 81 a. Similarly, the second hook 82 has: a firsthook piece 82 a placed on a connection terminal 56 side; and a secondhook piece 82 b placed at a predetermined interval in the longitudinaldirection Y1 from the first hook piece 82 a. The first hook piece 82 ais formed protruding inward from and integrally with the right sidesurface 75 e of the rear panel 73. A second protrusion piece 55 b isprovided on a connection terminal 56 side of the first hook piece 82 a.

The second hook piece 81 b of the first hook 81 is formed continuouslyand integrally with the bottom surface 75 a and the left side surface 75d of the opening 75. The second hook piece 82 b of the first hook 82 isformed continuously and integrally with the bottom surface 75 a and theright side surface 75 e of the opening 75. Cast holes 78 for injectionmolding using a die are formed in the bottom surface 75 a for the fourhook pieces 81 a, 81 b, 82 a, 82 b and the left and right protrusionpieces 55 a, 55 b, respectively. A second discrimination projection 79to discriminate a type of the battery device 1 is provided between thesecond protrusion piece 55 b and a fitting hole 50 for a connectionterminal 56.

Further, as in the first example, discrimination projections 53 a, 53 b,54 a, 54 b inserted into the second discrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b andthe third discrimination recesses 13 a, 13 b of the battery device 1,respectively, are provided in nails of the four hook pieces 81 a to 82b, respectively. The four first discrimination projections 53 a to 54 bare formed protruding away from the bottom surface 75 a on externalsurfaces of the nails, respectively.

The stopper member 77 is placed to be brought into contact with theright side surface 75 e on a side opposite to the lower surface 75 b ofthe mounting portion 74. The stopper member 77 is formed with: a stopper77 a protruding toward an upper portion of the battery device 1 mountedon the mounting portion 74 to regulate upward movement in thelongitudinal direction Y1 of the battery device 1; and an operationportion 77 b continuous with the stopper 77 a and protruding forwardfrom the opening 75. The stopper member 77 is energized by an elasticmember (not shown) to always protrude forward. At this time, the stopper77 a protrudes toward an upper portion of the battery device 1, so thatthe battery device 1 is prevented from being moved and dropped from themounting portion 74. When the operation portion 77 b is pressed againstan elastic force of the elastic member to move the stopper 77 abackward, a surface of the stopper 77 a is pressed down to a placecoplanar with the bottom surface 75 a. Accordingly, the battery device 1may be moved in the longitudinal direction Y1.

The battery device 1 of the first example of an embodiment of thepresent invention may be mounted on and detached from the mountingportion 74 having such a configuration as follows, for example. FIG. 11Ais a view describing the rear panel 73 with a front view of the mountingportion 44, FIG. 11B is a view describing a state when insertion of thebattery device 1 starts, and FIG. 11C is a view describing a lockedstate when insertion of the battery device 1 is completed. In FIGS. 11Band 11C, the three engaging pieces 8 a, 8 b, 8 c of the second engagingportion 8 are engaged with the two hook pieces 82 a, 82 b of the secondhook 82 and the second protrusion piece 55 b in the same manner in whichthe three engaging pieces 7 a, 7 b, 7 c of the first engaging portion 7formed symmetrically with the engaging pieces 8 a, 8 b, 8 c are engagedwith the two hook pieces 81 a, 81 b of the first hook 81 and the firstprotrusion piece 55 a. Therefore, an operation of one set formed withthe first engaging portion 7 and others is described here, anddescription of an operation of the other set formed with the secondengaging portion 8 and others is omitted.

First, a case of mounting the battery device 1 in the mounting portion74 will be described. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11B, the lowersurface 5 a of the battery device 1 is allowed to face the bottomsurface 75 a to make the lower surface 5 a approximately parallel to thebottom surface 75 a on an upper side (side opposite to the connectionterminal 56) of the opening 75 of the mounting portion 74. The batterydevice 1 is pressed against an energizing force of the stopper member77, and the first hook piece 81 a of the first hook 81 is inserted intothe first opening 10 a between the first engaging piece 7 a and thesecond engaging piece 7 b of the first engaging portion 7. At the sametime, the second hook piece 81 b of the first hook 81 is inserted intothe second opening 10 b between the second engaging piece 7 b and thethird engaging piece 7 c of the first engaging portion 7. Accordingly,the lower surface 5 a as a second surface of the battery device 1 isbrought into contact with the bottom surface 75 a as a second surface ofthe mounting portion 74.

In this case, as in the aforementioned example, the first discriminationprojection 53 a provided in the first hook piece 81 a of the first hook81 is inserted into the second discrimination recess 9 a provided on thefirst step surface 6 a of the battery device 1. Similarly, the seconddiscrimination projection 54 a provided in the first hook piece 82 a ofthe second hook 82 is inserted into the third discrimination recess 13 aprovided on the second step surface 6 b of the battery device 1. Thefirst discrimination projection 53 b provided in the second hook piece81 b of the first hook 81 is inserted into the second discriminationrecess 9 b provided on the first step surface 6 a of the battery device1. Similarly, the second discrimination projection 54 b provided in thesecond hook piece 82 b of the second hook 82 is inserted into the thirddiscrimination recess 13 b provided on the second step surface 6 b ofthe battery device 1.

Next, the battery device 1 is allowed to slide toward the connectionterminal 56. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11C, in the first hook 81,the second engaging piece 7 b is engaged with the first hook piece 81 aand the third engaging piece 7 c is engaged with the second hook piece81 b. Similarly, in the second hook 82, the second engaging piece 8 b isengaged with the first hook piece 82 a and the third engaging piece 8 cis engaged with the second hook piece 82 b. Accordingly, the batterydevice 1 is locked by the four hook pieces 81 a, 81 b, 82 a, 82 bengaged with the four engaging pieces 7 b, 7 c, 8 b, 8 c. At the sametime, the stopper member 77 is energized to outside, so that the stopper77 a protrudes toward an upper portion of the battery device 1 and thestopper 77 is brought into contact with the third step surface 6 c ofthe battery device 1. This prevents the battery device 1 from beingmoved in the longitudinal direction Y1 and dropped from the mountingportion 74.

At this time, the output terminal 3 of the battery device 1 is connectedto the connection terminal 56 of the mounting portion 74. Accordingly,the battery device 1 is electrically connected to the digital videocamera 20, and power of the battery device 1 is supplied to the digitalvideo camera 20 from the output terminal 3 through the connectionterminal 56. Accordingly, the digital video camera 20 may be operate tophotograph a subject and record the subject in a recording medium and towatch photographic information recorded in the recording medium in thedisplay device 23, for example.

Further, it may be impossible to mount a battery device in the mountingportion 74 when the battery device does not have the seconddiscrimination recesses 9 a, 9 b and the third discrimination recesses13 a, 13 b corresponding to the first discrimination projections 53 a,53 b and the second discrimination projections 54 a, 54 b on the firststep surface 6 a and the second step surface 6 b, respectively.

Accordingly, the mounting portion 74 of this example has the firstdiscrimination projections 53 a, 53 b and the second discriminationprojections 54 a, 54 b in addition to the discrimination projection 79used heretofore. Accordingly, it is possible to discriminate a type ofthe battery device based on a simple structure without complicating ashape of the discrimination projection 79, even if the number of typesof the battery device is further increased. The battery device 1 may bemounted not only in the mounting portion 44 of the first example butalso the mounting portion 74 of the second example having a differentmounting structure.

Next, when the battery device 1 mounted on the mounting portion 74 isremoved, a user manually operates the operation portion 77 b toward adisengaging side as shown in FIG. 11C. Specifically, in this example,the user presses the operation portion 77 b to press a surface of thestopper 77 a of the stopper member 77 down to a plane coplanar with thebottom surface 75 a against an energizing force of the elastic body. Thebattery device 1 is allowed to slide to a place where the four engagingpieces 7 b, 7 c, 8 b, 8 c are detached from the four hook pieces 81 a,81 b, 82 a, 82 b. Accordingly, the four engaging pieces 7 b, 7 c, 8 b, 8c are disengaged from the four hook pieces 81 a, 81 b, 82 a, 82 b, andthe battery device 1 may be removed. At this time, the output terminal 3of the battery device 1 is pulled from the connection terminal 56, andthe battery device 1 is electrically disconnected from the digital videocamera 20. Consequently, the battery device 1 may be removed by pullingthe battery device 1 away from the opening 75.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a second example of a battery device according toan embodiment of the present invention. The battery device 1A of thesecond example differs from the battery device 1 of the first example inthat a second discrimination recess 9A is provided by chamfering acorner of a first step surface 6 aA over a predetermined length R in alongitudinal direction Y from one edge on an output terminal 3 side, andsimilarly a third discrimination recess 13A is provided by chamfering acorner of a second step surface 6 bA over the predetermined length R inthe longitudinal direction Y from one edge on an output terminal 3 side.The battery device 1A is formed in the same manner as in the batterydevice 1 of the first example except for that point.

In this example, the length R of each of the second discriminationrecess 9A and the third discrimination recess 13A in the longitudinaldirection Y is set to be approximately equal to or less than a lengthbetween one edge on the output terminal 3 side and each of the thirdribs 11 c, 12 c. However, the length R of each of the seconddiscrimination recess 9A and the third discrimination recess 13A in anembodiment of the present invention is not limited to the length in thisexample, and may be variously modified according to a type of thebattery device. For example, the second discrimination recess 9A and thethird discrimination recess 13A may be asymmetrically formed to havedifferent lengths R in the longitudinal direction Y. It is also possibleto form the second discrimination recess 9A or the third discriminationrecess 13A on either one of the first step surface 6 aA and the secondstep surface 6 bA. Further, it is also possible to variously modify achamfering depth of a corner of each of the first step surface 6 aA andthe second step surface 6 bA.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show a third example of a mounting portion of anelectronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present inventionwhich corresponds to the battery device 1A of the second example. Themounting portion 74A differs from the mounting portion 74 of the secondexample in that first discrimination projections 53 aA, 53 bA and seconddiscrimination projections 54 aA, 54 ba provided in nails of a firsthook 81A and a second hook 82A, respectively, are each formed to have ashape corresponding to a shape of each of the second discriminationrecess 9A and the third discrimination recess 13A of the battery device1A. The mounting portion 74A is formed in the same manner as in themounting portion 74 of the second example except for that point.

In this example, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, inclined planescorresponding to an inclination angle of the second discriminationrecess 9A of the battery device 1A are provided on side surfaces of afirst hook piece 81 aA and a second hook piece 81 bA of the first hook81A. Inclined planes formed continuously and integrally with an inclinedplane on a side surface of the first hook 81A are provided on sidesurfaces of the first discrimination projections 53 aA, 53 bA.Similarly, inclined planes corresponding to an inclination angle of thethird discrimination recess 13A of the battery device 1A are provided onside surfaces of a first hook piece 82 aA and a second hook piece 82 bAof the second hook 82A. Inclined planes formed continuously andintegrally with an inclined plane on a side surface of the second hook82A are provided on side surfaces of the second discriminationprojections 54 aA, 54 bA.

FIG. 16 shows a fourth example of a mounting portion of an electronicapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention whichcorresponds to the battery device 1A of the second example. The mountingportion 104 of this example is formed with a hollow battery holder 103.

The mounting portion 104 has a bottom surface 105 a, a lower surface 105b, an opening surface 105 c, a left side surface 105 d, a right sidesurface 105 e, and a front surface 105 f. The bottom surface 105 a is anapproximately rectangular second surface of the mounting portion 104.The lower surface 105 b has a first surface continuous with one side ofthe bottom surface 105 a in a longitudinal direction Y2 andapproximately perpendicular to the bottom surface 105 a. The openingsurface 105 c is opposite to the lower surface 105 b and opened in ashape identical to that of the lower surface 105 b. The left sidesurface 105 d has a left step surface 107 a continuous with the bottomsurface 105 a with a predetermined step on one side of the bottomsurface 105 a in a crosswise direction X2 at right angles to thelongitudinal direction Y2 and is approximately perpendicular to thebottom surface 105 a. The right side surface 105 e has a right stepsurface 107 b continuous with the bottom surface 105 a with apredetermined step on the other side of the bottom surface 105 a in thecrosswise direction X2 and is approximately perpendicular to the bottomsurface 105 a. The front surface 105 f is opposite to the bottom surface105 a and continuous with and approximately perpendicular to the lowersurface 105 b. A corner at which the front surface 105 f intersects withthe left side surface 105 d and a corner at which the front surface 105f intersects with the right side surface 105 e are each formed in acircular shape having a large radius of curvature. Further, the mountingportion 104 is formed with the bottom surface 105 a, the lower surface105 b, the opening surface 105 c, the left side surface 105 d, the rightside surface 105 e, and the front surface 105 f. The mounting portion104 is provided in the battery holder 103 with the longitudinaldirection Y2 set to be a vertical direction.

The left step surface 107 a and the right step surface 107 b are eachset to have a length in a height direction Z2 (height) from the bottomsurface 105 a which is approximately equal to a height of each of thefirst step surface 6 aA and the second step surface 6 bA of the batterydevice 1A. Further, the left step surface 107 a and the right stepsurface 107 b are formed to be approximately parallel to the bottomsurface 105 a, respectively. In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, themounting portion 104 has: a left connection surface 106 a that connectsone side of the bottom surface 105 a in the crosswise direction X2 toone side of the left step surface 107 a in the crosswise direction X2and is approximately perpendicular to the bottom surface 105 a and theleft step surface 107 a; and a right connection surface 106 b thatconnects the other side of the bottom surface 105 a in the crosswisedirection X2 to one side of the right step surface 107 b in thecrosswise direction X2 and is approximately perpendicular to the bottomsurface 105 a and the right step surface 107 b.

The left connection surface 106 a has a first hook ill providedcontinuously with the left connection surface 106 a and having apredetermined length from one edge on a lower surface 105 b side in thelongitudinal direction Y2. The first hook 111 is formed integrally withthe left connection surface 106 a to protrude inward from the leftconnection surface 106 a with predetermined width and thickness.Similarly, the right connection surface 106 b has a second hook 112provided continuously with the right connection surface 106 b and havinga predetermined length from one edge on a lower surface 105 b side inthe longitudinal direction Y2. The second hook 112 is formed integrallywith the right connection surface 106 b to protrude inward from theright connection surface 106 b with predetermined width and thickness.

A corner at which the left step surface 107 a intersects with the leftside surface 105 d has a first discrimination projection 113 providedcontinuously and integrally with the corner and having a predeterminedlength from one edge on a lower surface 105 b side in the longitudinaldirection Y2. The first discrimination projection 113 is formed toconnect the left step surface 107 a to the left side surface 105 d at apredetermined inclination angle. Similarly, a corner at which the rightstep surface 107 b intersects with the right side surface 105 e has asecond discrimination projection 114 provided continuously andintegrally with the corner and having a predetermined length from oneedge on a lower surface 105 b side in the longitudinal direction Y2. Thesecond discrimination projection 114 is formed to connect the right stepsurface 107 b to the right side surface 105 e at a predeterminedinclination angle.

The battery device 1A may be mounted on and detached from the mountingportion 104 having such a configuration as follows, for example. First,a case of mounting the battery device 1A in the mounting portion 104will be described. In this case, the front surface 5 b as a firstsurface of the battery device 1A is allowed to face the opening surfaceof the mounting portion 104 on an upper side of the mounting portion104. Then, the first engaging portion 7 of the battery device 1A isengaged with the first hook 111, and similarly the second engagingportion 8 of the battery device 1A is engaged with the second hook 112.Next, the battery device 1A is inserted into the mounting portion 104along the first hook 111 and the second hook 112 until the outputterminal 3 is engaged with the connection terminal 56.

Accordingly, the first hook 111 is engaged with the first engaging piece7 a, the second engaging piece 7 b, and the third engaging piece 7 c ofthe first engaging portion 7 of the battery device 1A. Similarly, thesecond hook 112 is engaged with the first engaging piece 8 a, the secondengaging piece 8 b, and the third engaging piece 8 c of the secondengaging portion 8 of the battery device 1A. This may prevent movementof the battery device 1A in the height direction Z2. As shown in FIG.17, according to this example, the battery device 1A may be stored inthe mounting portion 104A having a dimension in the height direction Z2larger than that of the battery device 1A.

A protrusion length (width) of each of the third ribs 11 c, 12 c mostdistant from the output terminal 3 of the battery device 1A is set to beapproximately equal to a protrusion length (width) N of each of thethird engaging pieces 7 c, 8 c. Accordingly, the third ribs 11 c, 12 care brought into contact with the first hook 111 and the second hook 112when the battery device 1A is inserted into the mounting portion 104from the rear surface. Therefore, a user may immediately understand thatthe battery device 1A is inserted in a wrong direction.

Next, a user may remove the battery device 1A mounted on the mountingportion 104 by holding portion of the battery device 1A exposed from themounting portion 104 and pulling out the battery device upward. It isalso possible to remove the battery device 1A by pushing the batterydevice 1A out of the mounting portion 104 using a battery deviceremoving portion (not shown).

The battery device 1A having such a configuration may also exhibit thesame effect as in the battery device 1 of the first example. That is, itis possible to discriminate a type of the battery device based on asimple structure without further complicating a shape of the firstdiscrimination recesses 15 a, 15 b of the battery device 1, even if thenumber of types of the battery device is further increased. Further, thebattery device 1A may be mounted on mounting portions having differentmounting structures and thus may be effectively used.

As described above, according to a battery device, an electronicapparatus, and a battery system according to embodiments of the presentinvention, it is possible to discriminate a type of the battery deviceeven when the battery device and the electronic apparatus have differentattachment structures, one battery device may be used for multiple typesof an electronic apparatus, and, on the contrary, one battery device maybe used as an exclusive component for one type of an electronicapparatus. Accordingly, undesired use of a battery device may beprevented, and a predetermined battery device may be used for apredetermined type of an electronic apparatus to improve safety. A typeof the battery device may be discriminated in multiple stages bychanging a length, width, or position of a projection.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described aboveand shown in the drawings, and various modifications may be effectedwithout departing from the gist of the present invention. For example,in the aforementioned example, a battery device according to anembodiment of the present invention is used for a digital video cameraas a specific example of an imaging device; however, the battery devicemay be used not only for a digital video camera, obviously, but also forvarious other types of an electronic apparatus such as an electronicstill camera, a personal computer, an electronic dictionary, a DVDplayer, and a car navigation system. In the aforementioned example, anexample is described where six engaging pieces are provided in a batterydevice and four hook pieces or two hooks are provided in a mountingportion; however, it is obvious that the number of the engaging piecesis not limited to six, the number of the hook pieces is not limited tofour, and the number of the hooks is not limited to two.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. (canceled)
 2. An apparatus to load a battery, comprising: a batteryloading portion to load the battery and electric terminals to establisha power connection with the battery, the battery including: a firstsurface; a second surface approximately perpendicular to the firstsurface; a first step surface provided with and approximately parallelto the second surface with a predetermined step on one side of thesecond surface in a crosswise direction; a second step surface providedwith and approximately parallel to the second surface with apredetermined step on an other side of the second surface in thecrosswise direction; a first engaging portion protruding from the oneside of the second surface with predetermined width and thickness in thecrosswise direction; a second engaging portion protruding from the otherside of the second surface with predetermined width and thickness in thecrosswise direction; and a step provided in at least one of the firstand second step surfaces, wherein the first step surface extends betweenopposing first and second ends of the first step surface in a lengthwisedirection, the second step surface extends between opposing first andsecond ends of the second step surface in the lengthwise direction, thefirst ends of the first and second step surfaces are at respectivecorners between the first and second step surfaces and the firstsurface, and when the battery is loaded in the apparatus, the electricterminals of the apparatus connect with electric terminals of thebattery to establish the power connection.
 3. The apparatus according toclaim 2, further comprising: first and second hooks, wherein when thebattery is loaded in the apparatus, the first hook engages the firstengaging portion of the battery and the second hook engages the secondengaging portion of the battery.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3,wherein the first and second hooks are securely fixed on the loadingportion.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: alock mechanism to releasably lock the battery to the apparatus, whereinthe lock mechanism is operable by a user to release the battery forremoval from the apparatus.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5,wherein the lock mechanism is located at an opposite side in alengthwise direction with respect to a location of the electricterminals.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: adisplay panel provided on a surface of the apparatus.
 8. The apparatusaccording to claim 2, further comprising: first and second hooks on eachof first and second sides of the apparatus in a crosswise direction,wherein when the battery is loaded in the apparatus, the first hook onthe first side engages the first engaging portion of the battery and thefirst hook on the second side engages the second engaging portion of thebattery.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the batteryloading portion includes a bottom surface and a lower surface that isapproximately perpendicular to the bottom surface, and the electricterminals of the apparatus are located at a corner of the bottom surfaceand the lower surface.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, whereinthe battery loading portion includes first and second side surfaces. 11.The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when the battery is loadedin the apparatus, the bottom surface of the apparatus faces the secondsurface of the battery.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 9, furthercomprising: a fitting hole to which the electric terminals of apparatusare fitted is provided in an approximate center of the lower surface,wherein the fitting hole is formed as a notch that continuously extendsfrom the lower surface to a middle of the bottom surface.
 13. Anassembly, comprising: a battery including: a first surface; a secondsurface approximately perpendicular to the first surface; a first stepsurface provided with and approximately parallel to the second surfacewith a predetermined step on one side of the second surface in acrosswise direction; a second step surface provided with andapproximately parallel to the second surface with a predetermined stepon an other side of the second surface in the crosswise direction; afirst engaging portion protruding from the one side of the secondsurface with predetermined width and thickness in the crosswisedirection; a second engaging portion protruding from the other side ofthe second surface with predetermined width and thickness in thecrosswise direction; and a step provided in at least one of the firstand second step surfaces, wherein the first step surface extends betweenopposing first and second ends of the first step surface in a lengthwisedirection, the second step surface extends between opposing first andsecond ends of the second step surface in the lengthwise direction, thefirst ends of the first and second step surfaces are at respectivecorners between the first and second step surfaces and the firstsurface, and an apparatus to load the battery, the apparatus including:a battery loading portion to load the battery; and electric terminals toestablish a power connection with electric terminals of the battery whenthe battery is loaded in the apparatus.
 14. The assembly according toclaim 13, the apparatus further comprising: first and second hooks,wherein when the battery is loaded in the apparatus, the first hookengages the first engaging portion of the battery and the second hookengages the second engaging portion of the battery.
 15. The assemblyaccording to claim 13, the apparatus further comprising: first andsecond hooks on each of first and second sides of the apparatus in acrosswise direction, wherein when the battery is loaded in theapparatus, the first hook on the first side engages the first engagingportion of the battery and the first hook on the second side engages thesecond engaging portion of the battery.
 16. The assembly according toclaim 13, the apparatus further comprising: a lock mechanism toreleasably lock the battery to the apparatus, wherein the lock mechanismis operable by a user to release the battery for removal from theapparatus.
 17. The assembly according to claim 16, wherein the lockmechanism is located at an opposite side in a lengthwise direction withrespect to a location of the electric terminals.
 18. The assemblyaccording to claim 13, wherein: the battery loading portion includes abottom surface and a lower surface that is approximately perpendicularto the bottom surface, and the electric terminals of the apparatus arelocated at a corner of the bottom surface and the lower surface, and thebattery includes the electric terminals provided at a corner between thefirst and second surfaces of the battery.
 19. The assembly according toclaim 18, wherein the battery loading portion includes first and secondside surfaces.
 20. The assembly according to claim 18, wherein when thebattery is loaded in the apparatus, the bottom surface of the apparatusfaces the second surface of the battery.
 21. The assembly according toclaim 18, further comprising: a fitting hole to which the electricterminals of apparatus are fitted is provided in an approximate centerof the lower surface, wherein the fitting hole is formed as a notch thatcontinuously extends from the lower surface to a middle of the bottomsurface.